Material forming machines play a significant role in modern industry and include, for example, machines which stamp, roll, form, cut and extrude metal, to name a few. One type of machine, and the type to which the present invention is directed, receives an elongate strip of material at an entryway and advances the strip of material progressively through the machine against longitudinally positioned forming elements to configure longitudinal margins of the strip into desired useful cross-sections, or profiles. After formation, the strip is discharged at an exit location, and a shear may be positioned at the exit to cut preformed material into selected lengths. A representative selectively actuable shear assembly is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,687 issued Apr. 21, 1998 to Meyer et al. The '687 patent has been assigned to New Tech Machinery Corp. of Denver, Colo., the assignee of the present invention. The strips of material that are fed into the machine may either be at discrete lengths or, as is more typically the case, a continuous feed is provided from a coil, such as a coil of metal to be formed. The formed strip is then cut into usable lengths at the exit location or downstream end of the machine. Specific examples of such apparatus include commercial/residential roof panel forming machines, gutter forming machines, siding panel forming machines and soffit panel forming machines.
Existing material forming machines typically have a framework which supports a drive assembly for advancing the elongated strip of material in a downstream direction from the entrance to the exit. The drive assembly is coupled to one or more pairs of co-acting rollers centrally located along the pathway of the strip. Until the late 1990s the co-acting pairs had included two driven rollers each journal for synchronous rotation about first and second axis, respectively, which rollers were located above and below the strip as it was advanced through the framework. However, the '687 Patent noted above also disclosed a forming apparatus wherein the pairs of co-acting rollers each comprise a driven roller connected to the drive assembly and a free-wheeling roller adjustably mounted to its associated driven roller. Representative forming machines from New Tech Machinery Corp. which incorporate the teachings of both the '687 Patent are available under the designations “BG7” and “Mach II”.
Also in existing material forming machines it is known to provide a plurality of forming rollers disposed along the pathway of the strip to configure one or both margins into a desired profile. This is accomplished by progressively bending the margins into a particular shape. Sometimes these forming rollers are each independently mounted to the framework at selected locations, but another technique involves grouping forming elements together as forming station sets along the pathway of the strip. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,259 issued Jun. 20, 1995 to Coben et al., also assigned to New Tech, a forming machine is disclosed for bending strips wherein an elongated rail structure is removably secured within the interior of the framework of the machine and its removable out, for example, the one entrance or exit of the framework. The rail structure is mounted at discrete mounting locations that are spaced laterally of the drive mechanism, and a plurality of forming elements are disposed on the rail structure to define at least two longitudinally spaced forming stations. The rail structure is removable from the framework without detaching the forming stations. Alternative sets of rail structures can then be interchangeably mounted in the framework as forming sets to allow formation of different profiles without the need to individually change each forming station. Representative forming machines which incorporate the use of such features are available from New Tech Machinery under the designations “SSP MultiPro”, “SSH MultiPro”, “SSR MultiPro Jr.”, “5VC 5V Crimp” and “FWM Flush Wall”.
While forming machines have been quite useful and effective in fabricating metal strips into shaped members, such as panels and gutters, in the past such machines were only able to form a single profile so that the fabricator would have to require separate machines for each profile desired to be configured, or for each change of dimensions within a given profile. Alternatively, the entire set of forming elements would need to be replaced by individually detaching each forming element or, in certain cases, by replacing a forming station box comprising a set of forming rollers. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,722 issued Mar. 7, 1995 to Meyer, an apparatus for forming profiles on strip materials is disclosed wherein a standard profile can be formed of two different sizes or physical dimensions. The machine shown in the '722 patent utilizes rollers that may be positioned toward and apart from one another for selected spacing between the two relative positions, thereby to selectively vary the profile formed.
A further advancement in the art of material forming machines is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,616 issued Aug. 10, 2004 to Cunningham et al., also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent describes a forming machine wherein greater flexibility of fabrication is achieved because the machine is constructed to accommodate a variety of different sets of metal forming stations mounted as sets on rail structures, or support beams, so that the different sets may be easily interchanged to allow fabrication of different panel profiles. As such, an easily adjustable forming machine is described for varying profile dimensions, such as profile height and profile separation, with a minimum of downtime for the machine during a changeover.
While all of these existing machines are quite useful and effective in fabricating material strips into shaped members, they do suffer from inflexibility during calibration, changeover and offset adjustment in particular. In order to calibrate these machines, for example, it is necessary to ensure that the rollers which comprise the drive assembly and the forming assembly are properly aligned within the machine. More particularly, it is important that these members be properly positioned relative to a “pass line”, which is an imaginary line contained within an imaginary plane through which the sheet material travels through the machine during use. In essence, then, this imaginary plane extends centrally through the machine just above the bottom one of each co-acting pair of drive rollers. The traditional approach for properly positioning the drive assembly within the machine begins with attaching a string, fishing line or the like, between two fixed points within the machine so that it is coextensive with, or parallel to, the pass line. Upstream and downstream ones of the drive assembly's bottom/drive rollers are then shimmed so that they are higher than the intermediate drive rollers, and set to the specific height of the pass line. The remaining intermediate drive rollers are then adjusted so that their upper surfaces are then all situated on the pass line. Each top drive roller, which is adjustably mounted to upper cross members of the machine's framework via set screws, may then be adjusted downwardly into position.
From time to time during use of the forming machine it becomes necessary to make other adjustments. For example, changeovers and/or offset adjustments become necessary so that the machine can be adjusted to accommodate different panel widths or different profiles for a given width. For a complete changeover, for example, it is necessary to replace existing tooling, while an offset adjustment requires moving selected portions of the tooling relative to others within the machine itself. A typical changeover in an “SSP MultiPro” roof panel machine or the like, requires the removal of rails within the machine that support the tooling, along with their associated adjustment blocks. For example, within the “SSP MultiPro” there are eight (8) aluminum angle blocks that mount to the frame and the right hand side tooling is secured above these blocks. To remove the tooling requires feeding the rails on each side of the machine, with the tooling mounted to them, out through either the entry or sheer end of the machine. Depending on the existing tooling profile, there are typically one to two rails within each side of the machine. These rails or rail segments are quite heavy and cumbersome with tooling mounted to them. Moreover, to provide a suitable clearance and ease of maneuverability, it is necessary to disassemble or remove various other components of the fabricating machine such as its cover portions (top covers, side covers) and other subassemblies (e.g., entry drum assemblies and guide system).
Once the old tooling has been removed, a new tooling set needs to be assembled inside the machine. On the fixed (or right-hand side of the machine from the perspective of an observer looking in the downstream direction from the entry way to the exit) the replacement tooling needs to be mounted such that the faces of their associated angle blocks are positioned a particular distance from fixed points on the machine, with this distance being dictated by the particular profile to be run. This distance is often established, again, through the use of a string line extending between two known, fixed points. It is quite common to use a tape measure or other suitable measuring device to ensure that the tooling is properly positioned at the desired distance from the string line. Set screws are provided to assist with the process to make “fine tune” adjustments.
The left side of the machine has adjustable subassemblies so that the tooling can be moved laterally inwardly or outwardly through the use of an Acme shaft with Acme nuts. In the “SSP MultiPro” unit for example, tooling is affixed to the face side of the rails which themselves mount to the clamp blocks, each clamp block having two threaded holes and two through holes. Here again, it is necessary to set the distance from the face angle of clamp blocks to another string line, and this can be accomplished via a nut, of which there are at least five. Once the tooling is adjusted, a crankshaft is employed to manually adjust the left side relative to the right side, via the Acme shafts, to accommodate for different sheet material.
It should be appreciated that a complete changeover is a very tedious process and requires that the tooling be precisely positioned within the machine to ensure seamless operation. Indeed, one complete changeover from one leg configuration profile to another can be a 4-5 hour process. An offset adjustment, whereby the offset spacing between the face of one rail segment on the left side of the machine is adjusted relative to another downstream of it, can also be time consuming. To accomplish this, one of the rail segments must be set, and then the other rail segment positioned relative to it based on whether a positive or negative offset is required. This process requires independent manual adjustment of the rail segments which is quite tedious. In the past it has been known to utilize an Acme shaft having a coupler which can be disengaged to allow one rail segment to be adjusted relative to another on the same side of the machine. However, the engaged or disengaged state of the coupler cannot be manually adjusted and requires hand tools. Even then, it remains necessary to adjust each rail segment using the approach discussed above wherein set screws, string lines and tape measures are employed.